Marcella

This is a pretty good crime drama with lots of kinks and twists in it that should keep you watching the 2 seasons. Here we have another cop drama set in London co created and written by the writers Hans Rosenfeldt and Nicola Lardner. Rosenfeldt was behind the Swedish series called “The Bridge” which was later adapted in an English series called “The Tunnel” which Lardner also worked on. I am not a B&T guy with regards to this series and both remain unseen by me. In this drama we have a tough troubled Police detective on the British Metropolitan police force played very well by Anna Friel a little known actress at least in the USA. When the show opens she is trying to come to grips with her failed interracial marriage and her problems with her two teen children a boy and a girl who give more grief than love. She is also riddled with problems like uncalled for violence, blackouts and questionable police tactics and routines. Marcella is to put it mildly a mess. Still she is respected and has come back to the force after a 12 year hiatus to raise her family of ingrates and to deal with her wandering husband who has been cheating on her. The first season is concerned with a serial killer which is nothing new here and she is immediately at odds with her superiors including the very handsome and sexy Ray Panthaki who tries to give Marcella as much space and leeway as he can. Seen in the first season is the terrific actress Sinead Cusak as the cold head of an architectural firm where Marcella’s husband works. There is a lot of trouble and dirt at this palace and this is where a lot of the action spins around. It’s all very complex colorful and a bit confusing including the usual heavy British accents. Also in the first season is the unknown at this time Florence Pugh who plays a tough and greedy sex worker and a nice small appearance by Laura Carmichael who was one of the leading actors in Downton Abbey. Season two is somewhat nastier and grittier with a really ghastly child murderer on the loose and may cause many to squirm and even walk away. I stayed with it to the surprising nasty end. Marcella is no huggy cuddly heroine in fact she can be downright scary and mean which also might be a turn off to some. Don’t know if a season 3 is planned but the ending of season 2 was ambiguous. Lots of loose ends and plot holes with this one, but as I said it’s a pretty good look at. With music that seems to be used in every British crime series and the usual heavy dose of pretty drone Arial shots of London that seems to be a prerequisite for these crime shows.